How NFL Legend Willie Anderson Helped Shape Buckeyes Star OT Paris Johnson Jr.

As he approaches being a potential first-round pick in the NFL draft, Paris Johnson Jr. opened up about his connection with an NFL legend.

When the NFL draft starts later this month, there will likely be at least three Ohio State Buckeyes who hear their name called by Roger Goodell in the first round. 

While quarterback C.J. Stroud and receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba have the flashy highlights and may receive plenty of headlines, their life would have been a lot harder on offense without fellow potential first-round pick, offensive tackle Paris Johnson Jr.

Johnson is routinely mocked in the upper half of the first round and is set to help anchor a team's offensive line as a rookie. However, he hasn't always found himself on the offensive line. 

In an interview with Good Morning Football, Johnson revealed that he changed positions

. @OhioStateFB OT Paris Johnson Jr wakes up with GMFB and discusses the foundation he created while in high school, and his relationship with Willie Anderson pic.twitter.com/70UckdU5yq

— Good Morning Football (@gmfb) April 4, 2023

"I was 15 years old and at the time I was a defensive lineman," Johnson said. "I get called in by my head coach and he's like 'Paris, you're a tackle.' I asked him if I could get some help."

"He told me that because of the rules of Ohio, we couldn't really do anything as a team until August. That's pretty much right before the season so I was kind of in a panic." 

Changing positions is never an easy task, especially with such little time to prepare for said change. However, Johnson received training to learn how to play tackle from an NFL legend. 

"I'm walking around the mall and I meet an old family friend who says he knows a guy who could help me out," Johnson said. "The next day I got in a car with him and drove to Atlanta - turned out it was Willie Anderson."

Anderson was widely considered one of the best tackles in the NFL, earning three All-Pro bids and eventually getting a spot in the Bengals Ring of Honor. For Johnson, Anderson was instrumental in his development as a tackle. 

"The first day with him was so hard, I didn't know offensive line had technique at all," Johnson said. "I think for me, because I knew nothing else in the world of offensive line, he was the first person to teach me offensive line."

"I think that baseline for the technique he taught compared to what a lot of other people taught, it helped launch me to a higher level because I love to learn new things, I love to absorb the game. I stayed down there with him for a week."

Even after the summer ended and Johnson was back working with his teammates, he and Anderson kept in touch. 

"Throughout high school, he would come to my games, come to my practices," Johnson said. "I would go down to Atlanta in my free time. He comes up to Ohio State, I go down to him."

"Even up to the pro day and the combine, we still work together all the time. We've been working together since I was 15, and I'm 21 now. He's been amazing in my development." 

Now, with the draft less than a month away, Johnson is set to follow in Anderson's footsteps and become one of the NFL's next great young offensive tackles - and anchor an offensive line in the process.

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You can find Connor Zimmerlee on Twitter @Connorjz98

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